The moment the creature called Kael “my king,” I realized our past had been far bigger than the pieces either of us had admitted aloud.
Silence spread through the fractured space with suffocating weight after the words left the creature’s mouth. Even the unstable system surrounding us seemed to still be beneath the impact of that ancient title.
Kael’s hands remained against my face, but the warmth in them changed. Tension tightened through his fingers as the bond between us pulsed violently with emotion he could no longer hide from me.
The creature’s glowing eyes remained fixed on Kael now, ancient wings spreading slowly through the darkness pouring from the broken seal beneath it. The surrounding figures still knelt in silence around us, their lowered heads making the fractured space f
